Lord Jesus, you have set before us a different standard when it comes to rights and rewards; help us now, by your Holy Spirit, to see how we can give up our freedom for the sake of others by becoming all things to all people, so that they, too, might become children of our Father in heaven. Amen
Introduction
One of the great advances over the past fifty years has been the championing of the rights of the disadvantaged and the oppressed. All people are to be respected and valued – regardless of their race, gender, social position, wealth, etc. This is, of course, a fundamental Biblical principle, and has found a place in our revised baptismal covenant – “Will you strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being?”[1] Standing up for human rights is a good thing! At the same time, however, stressing “rights” has its down side. It can become a way for people to assert their right to do whatever they want, no matter what the consequences to others, let alone themselves. In some ways, we seem to have gone to the other extreme and now no one can question another’s claim to “be right” – and so all sorts of behaviours – no matter how arrogant or greedy or selfish – are claimed as “rights.”
We talked about this in last week’s sermon where, in addressing the question of meat offered to idols, Paul challenged “stronger” Church members’ “right” to eat whatever they wanted if it meant damaging the consciences of others, “Be careful, however, that the exercise of your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak” (1 Corinthians 8:9). We saw that Christian maturity is not exercising your freedom to the uttermost but knowing what degree of freedom will be the most liberating and life-giving to others. Paul then expands on this principle in chapter 9 of 1 Corinthians which we are looking at this week in the last sermon of our series, “Issues Facing Christians Today.” Paul begins by using himself as an example of not claiming rights for the sake of others; then he reveals his motives in doing this; he goes on to discuss his method of doing this; and he ends with a challenge to all of us to discipline ourselves to live like this. I have summarized it all under the title “rights and rewards.”
Paul’s Example
One of the problems in giving up your rights for the sake of others is that you can be abused and feel like a doormat. Then there are some people who naturally yield to the wishes of others because they think they are nobodies. There is none of that in this chapter! Now, it is true that Paul was accused by some in the Corinthian Church of being a false apostle, and part of the evidence against him was that he and his companions did not ask for nor receive the same privileges as the “genuine” apostles such as Peter. People said that because Paul worked for his own support through tent-making and did not receive payment that showed his teaching wasn’t worth anything! He has already addressed this issue in chapter 4, where he says, “I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court” (4:3) and goes on there to share how much they had suffered for the sake of the Corinthians. Then, here in chapter 9 he returns to this theme and lists his credentials (“credentials” were seen as very important by many in Corinth) – his rights – to show exactly how much he has given up for their sakes in the hope that this should spur them on to do the same!
Paul begins by showing he is a true apostle. First, he was an eyewitness to the resurrected Christ, “Have I not seen Jesus our Lord?” (verse 1). This is a key qualification of an apostle (see Acts 1:22 and 1 Corinthians 15:5-8). Second, he had founded churches, including their own! “Are you not the result of my work in the Lord?…You are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord” (verses 1-2). Here was authentic apostolic activity. Paul was a genuine apostle.
But in spite of being a genuine apostle, he had not used the rights of an apostle. He lists three in verses 4-6:
- The right to have their needs met by the Church – “Don’t we have the right to food and drink?”
- The right to be accompanied by a wife who is also to be supported – “Don’t we have the right to take a believing wife along with us, as do the other apostles and the Lord’s brothers and Cephas (i.e. Peter)?
- The right not to have to work for a living – “Is it only I and Barnabas who don’t have the right not to work for a living?”
He then gives a rationale as to why, even though he and his companions have not used them, these are legitimate rights.[2]
- First he cites common practice: “Who serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat of its grapes? Who tends a flock and does not drink of the milk?” (verse 7). These three examples from everyday life – soldiers, farmers and shepherds – all get their living through what they do.
- Then he gives Scriptural precedent: “It is written in the Law of Moses: ‘Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain.’ Is it about oxen that God is concerned?” Surely he says this for us, doesn’t he?” (verses 9-10). Moses’ command in Deuteronomy 25:4 about farm animals deserving food from their labour can be applied as a general principle – workers are to receive a share of the results of their labour.
- Next, he speaks about intrinsic justice: “If we have sown spiritual seed among you, is it too much if we reap a material harvest from you? If others have this right of support from you, shouldn’t we have it all the more?” (verses 11-12). The Corinthians owed their salvation to Paul – surely gratitude should be expressed in tangible ways?
- Jewish custom is his next reason: “Don’t you know that those who serve in the temple get their food from the temple, and that those who serve at the altar share in what is offered on the altar?” (verse 13). The Jewish priests in the temple were to be provided for through the tithes and offerings of the people (Numbers 18:8ff). Paul has already shown that the Church is the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 3:16) so the ministry of the gospel is an extension of the ministry of the old Temple.
- Finally, Paul quotes Jesus’ command: “The Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel” (verse 14). We find this in Luke 10:7, where Jesus says as he sends his disciples out on mission: “Stay in that house, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for the worker deserves his wages.”
Now all these are general principles for why the Church pays workers to equip and enable the church to carry out its ministry. It is good to remember that, as we approach commitment Sunday next week, two thirds of our budget goes towards salaries – supporting people who are enabling the church to function. An additional eleven percent goes outside to enable others to exercise ministry in the wider world such as through our school and in the North and overseas. Only just over 20% goes into our building and programmes – the bulk of our funds supports people. Thus we are following the general principles Paul lays out here. But he then goes on to say that he is an exception to the rule! “But I have not used any of these rights. And I am not writing this in the hope that you will do such things for me” (verse 15). Why he chose to give up his rights is at the heart of Paul’s argument and to this we now turn.
Paul’s Motives
The heart of Paul’s argument for giving up his rights is that he had a heart for the Gospel. The good news was so precious to him that he did not want anything to become a barrier to people’s entering the kingdom. “We put up with anything rather than hinder the gospel of Christ” (verse 12). Paul was so concerned that people hear about and respond to God’s love for them through Christ that he was willing to give up anything – even his own security and well-being – and eventually, his life. He gives three further motivations for giving up his rights.
First, wrong impressions: Paul didn’t want to appear like the travelling teachers then common in the ancient world. These persuasive orators always asked for money, and if you wanted to become more deeply involved as a disciple of their philosophy, there was a higher fee. The Gospel of Jesus is free and anything which gives the impression that you have to pay God to get in his good books had to be rejected. The history of the Church down through the ages to the present is full of people who have given Jesus a bad name by their financial wheelings and dealings – Paul wanted to avoid any suspicion or misunderstanding in this area.
Second, personal experience: Paul had been overwhelmed by the grace and love of God. Here was he, a mistaken religious zealot and persecutor of the Church, whom God had reached out to touch and liberate from his prison of legalism and self-effort. He now wanted to share that freedom with everyone. He had an inner drive: “I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!” (verse 16). Paul’s personal experience of Christ giving freely to a man who thought God’s favour had to be earned meant that he wanted to demonstrate God’s grace by giving up even what he could legitimately claim.
Finally, his reward: To Paul, just sharing the Gospel was the reward in itself. “If I preach voluntarily, I have a reward; if not voluntarily, I am simply discharging the trust committed to me. What then is my reward? Just this: that in preaching the gospel I may offer it free of charge, and so not misuse my rights as a preacher of the gospel” (verses 17-18). For Paul “His reward was – that he didn’t get a reward!”[3] Paul’s rewards were not financial, but the joy of knowing he was offering Christ free of charge, without obstructions, to those who needed the message. These are Paul’s motives. How about you? Has Christ so touched you that you passionately want others to come to know him and will seek to remove all barriers to that taking place?
Paul’s Method
Paul then moves on from motives to method – how he has gone about sharing the gospel. “Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible” (verse 19). Paul has moved far away from restricting his freedom so as not to offend people’s consciences. He is now talking about restricting his freedom in order to win others for Christ. The word “win” is used five times in this section, changing to ‘save” in verse 22, and this implies that we need to be pro-active – not just sit back and wait for people to come in. Paul gives three ways in which he takes the initiative by restricting his freedom:
First, to the Jews: “To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law” (verse 20). Paul continued to worship in the synagogue and submit to Jewish customs (e.g. Acts 16:3; 21:26) – he did not want to prevent Jewish people accepting Jesus as messiah because he had abandoned Jewish practices – though he could have. I can see parallels here to relating to people denominationally. I ensure that I fulfill all the legitimate expectations of Anglicanism (e.g. confirmation, liturgical practice, etc.) so that no Anglican will reject my message because I “am not Anglican enough!”
Second, Paul related to Gentiles: “To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law” (verse 21). When necessary, Paul would abandon his Jewish traditions (e.g. Kosher food, circumcision requirements, etc.) and also ensure he related the gospel to pagan expectations such as in his speech in Athens in Acts 17 when he used Greek poets to back up his claims for Jesus. We can apply this approach in reaching out to First Nations people and other specific ethnic groups or subcultures such as teenagers and those in the theatre or music scene.
Finally, Paul; related to the weak: “To the weak I became weak, to win the weak” (verse 22). Here Paul returns to his concerns in chapter 8 – those with weak consciences. He is not going to allow his freedom in Christ to damage the consciences of people who do not have the same freedom as he. If that means abstaining from alcohol or certain foods or practices in the presence of others, then it is worth it for the sake of those who might stumble in their faith if we did not.
All this is done without compromising the message: “I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings” (verse 23). The message remains constant but the messenger needs to be adaptable. Paul sums up his method in verse 22: “I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some.”
Paul’s Challenge
We close with Paul’s challenge. In order to live out the restriction of our freedom for the sake of others, we must be able to bring our bodies under submission. Paul uses athletic imagery: “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training” (verses 24-25). Tom Wright says, “The gospel will demand that you give up some of your ‘rights’ and ‘freedoms’ even if this feels like going into hard, athletic training.”[4] Christian discipleship is hard – sacrificing for others is not easy.
What restrictions are you willing to undergo for the sake of the gospel? For some, it may be contributing financially well beyond your normal tithe to enable ministry to happen. For others, it may mean forgoing marriage or family as we saw in chapter 7. For yet others, it may mean you entering into an unreached subculture or people group in a way that wins them over to Christ but risks the misunderstanding of fellow believers. “Whatever God calls you to do, it will often mean giving up supposed ‘rights’ and ‘freedoms’ in order to become the person God means us to become.” [5] This is to be our perspective on rights and rewards.
[1] e.g. Book of Alternative Services, pg. 159.
[2] I am grateful to David Prior, The Message of 1 Corinthians. (Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press, 1985), pgs. 154f, for these headings.
[3] N.T. Wright, Paul for Everyone – I Corinthians. (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2004), pg. 111.
[4] Wright, ibid., pg. 119.
[5] Ibid., pg. 120.
